FULL RACHMANINOV THE LAST ROMANTIC St.Petersburg 2023
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: RACHMANINOV THE LAST ROMANTIC
- Composer: Rachmaninov Sergei
- Libretto: Poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, translated by K. D. Balmont
- Venue & Opera Company: MTS Live Hall, St.Petersburg, Russia
- Recorded: June 19, 2023
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Soloists of the theater
- Conductor: Fabio Mastrangelo
- Orchestra: Symphony Orchestra of the Musical Theatre. F.I. Chaliapin "Northern Symphony"
- Chorus: Petersburg Chamber Choir
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Silver Video
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 3 Audio:3
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Rachmaninov. The Last Romantic” dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the great composer.
The concert offers the audience such large-scale canvases as the symphonic poem “Isle of the Dead” (1909), the poem for soloists, choir and orchestra “The Bells” (1913) and “Symphonic Dances” (1940).
Video content specially created for this program includes photo and video chronicles, paintings by Rachmaninoff’s contemporaries, as well as a complex associative array that allows you to immerse yourself in the contradictory moods of the era as fully as possible, comprehend the brilliant music of S.V. Rachmaninoff and better understand him as a person and creator.
The initial impetus for the idea of Rachmaninoff’s symphonic poem was a reproduction of the painting by the Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) “Isle of the Dead”, depicting an island with slender cypress trees, surrounded on three sides by high gloomy cliffs – a place of eternal rest, where there is no place for sorrows nor the worries of life. Turning to the problem of life and death that worried him, Rachmaninov interprets it independently, differently than Becklin, with his penchant for mysterious, enigmatic symbolism and decorative manner of writing. The music of the symphonic poem is notable for its vivid dramatic expression, strength and passion of feeling.
“The Bells” to the words of the poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, translated by K. D. Balmont, is the most significant and major work of Rachmaninov in the early 1910s. This poem reflected the anxious, tense moods of the beginning of the century. “The Bells” rightfully belong to the outstanding Russian musical compositions on the eve of the First World War.
The final work of the concert and the entire festival will be “Symphonic Dances” – the last symphonic work created by S.V. Rachmaninov. “Symphonic Dances” were written in exile, which became a tragedy for the composer. Rachmaninov himself considered this work to be the best among his compositions. Despite the tragic moments in the concept of “Dances”, this music leaves a feeling of catharsis and hope. “Symphonic Dances” is the final work of the great composer, in which he reflects on the fate of Russia and the world, his spiritual testament.